


Always Return to You

by ToriCeratops



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Make up sex, ThunderScience - Freeform, non graphic sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-25
Updated: 2014-04-25
Packaged: 2018-01-20 17:38:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1519400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToriCeratops/pseuds/ToriCeratops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce gets frustrated at the way Thor seems to ignore his own safety on the field of battle.</p>
<p>Thor has no plans on changing his ways any time soon but he finds a way to make it up to him anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always Return to You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [twilightscribe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/twilightscribe/gifts).



> This started out as a drabble promt and just grew up from there.

It’s not like it had been a long fall.

Hell, he started and stopped within the atmosphere of the same  planet so that was something anyway.

Though, to hear Tony tell it later, “in the atmosphere” might have been stretching it a little.  

Thor is only out for a moment, coming to in the center of a crater, his limbs unusually sore. The percussive force he’d absorbed topside followed by the impact with the hard cracked ground of the salt flats might have had something to do with that.

He’s still for a moment, the ground stiff beneath him and the sky above nearly white with the brightness of the sun.  Before he can blink or take another breath a shadow falls over Thor, accompanied by a deep, disgruntled grunt that is both welcome and relieving.

“Squishy.” Fingers that would crush a mortal (and have attempted to do to him in the past) slip around Thor’s shoulders in a manner that only the god could consider gentle and lift him unceremoniously to his feet.

“Not quite as squishy as you may think my…” His words are cut off when he’s jerked forward, body slamming against the Hulk’s chest and momentarily unable to breathe again beneath the crushing force of his arms.

“Stupid.” Despite the vice around his body, Thor smiles and drops his head against the hard green line of his captor’s shoulder.

“My apologies. I will endeavor to be less reckless with my own safety in the future.” When he receives a grunt of disbelief Thor adds, “You have my word.”  He’s dropped back to his feet and receives a hard fist against his shoulder which almost sends him reeling but he catches himself before falling off balance.  

A moment later he is standing alone, watching as the hulk sulks off towards where the Quinn jet is still hopefully waiting for them in one piece.  

"Man of Iron!" Thor speaks after pressing the little device in his ear.

“What’s up big buddy?  You alright?  Need a lift or something?”  

"May we speak privately?"

There's a tiny beep and Tony's voice comes through clearly. "It’s just us now.”  His voice takes on a genuinely concerned tone.  “Seriously.  You okay?"

He decides to walk for a few minutes while he speaks, holding his hand out for Mjolnir to return.

"You often make grievous errors in your relationship with Captain Rogers, do you not?"

The silence in answer is somewhat unexpected but only lasts a minute or two.  By the time Tony scoffs Thor has his hammer back in hand and has no clue, or care, where he is.  "I most certainly do not! He screws up just as much as I do I will have you know!”

“I mean no offense, and I apologize if I have. Only, I seek your advice.”

There’s a long pause before Tony answers. “Go on.” He says tentatively.

Thor continues. “I have angered Bruce.  I feel I must show him I am truly apologetic though I fear that simply stating that would not be enough.”

“Yeah, I can see why you would come to me for that. Ok, fine.  Are we talking forgot a birthday or said something insensitive screw up, or more of a ‘ignored my own safety and almost made him watch me die’ kind of screw up?”

“I fear it is the latter.” Thor pauses, hanging his head.  He would make the same choices over again, given the chance.  His actions won the battle, might have turned the tide in this constant war with these invaders.    And they certainly saved the lives of those still on the ground, including Bruce’s.  

No way in all of the nine realms he would change that.

But how do you apologize for something you would do again, the same exact way, in a heart beat?

Tony lets out a long, impressed whistle. “Ouch. Well, you’re in luck. I’ve got a truly MASSIVE repertoire of apologies of those types to choose from. Meet me back at the tower. We’ll compare notes.”

Thor looks in the direction that the Hulk had disappeared as he takes off and hopes that once he has to face Bruce that he will be able to find a way to ask for forgiveness.

 

●▬▬▬▬๑۩۩๑▬▬▬▬▬●

“No, Thor.  You don’t get it!”  

Their argument spans on for what feels like forever.  The tower should be empty, deserted at the first rise in Bruce’s voice but their friends all stand just out of earshot - to lend a hand or a shoulder, whichever is needed at the end of this.

“Then please, explain it to me.  I wish to understand.”

Bruce isn’t so much angry as he is hurt.  Broken.  “You and the Avengers.  After so long on my own, completely alone…  you’re everything I have.  You especially.  You…”  He shakes his head and turns, glancing slowly at the forgotten dinner that neither of them has touched.  “You’re my whole world and I saw too late.  We saw you falling and we couldn’t do anything.  We had no idea what we would find in that damn crater.”

“But I am still in one piece!  I got up.  I always get up.”

“YOU CAN’T GUARANTEE THAT!  You’re immortal.  You don’t age and you’re damn hard to kill but you are far from invulnerable.  And if something were to happen to you, and I was… was… HIM!  Off beating down buildings and forgetting that there’s anything important waiting for me at home.  I wouldn't know.  I wouldn't….  I couldn't.”  

Before Thor can say anything Bruce is walking away, again.  He swallows heavily, a tightness in his chest he is sure will destroy him if he doesn't find something to keep him from leaving.

“Please do not leave here.  Not now.”

At their door Bruce pauses, hand on the release.  “I need air.  I need to calm down before I do something stupid.”

And then he’s gone.

In his chest Thor’s heart stutters.  

For hours he waits.  Steve checks on him briefly but doesn’t stay more than a moment, leaving Thor to continue pacing his floor.  His and Bruce’s floor.  The city below is bright with the lights of its nightlife, dots of brightness coming and going and his thoughts are just as inconsistent.  

_I wouldn't know_.

He lifts his head, lips pressed together in determination.  

Thor knows what he has to do.

●▬▬▬▬๑۩۩๑▬▬▬▬▬●

The lighting that cracks through the sky when Thor comes is kind of impressive.

Not that you would EVER get Bruce to admit to that out-loud, of course.

The sky is crystal clear above them and somewhere in the back of his post orgam haze his brain comments that any meteorologist paying attention will mark that one down as a glitch in their equipment.

He laughs into sweat dampened blonde hair.

“Does something amuse you, my love?”  They’re still folded so intimately together, sitting under the stars, Bruce wrapped around Thor whose hands are still soothing long tense muscles and lips repeatedly kissing weathered skin.

Bruce’s hum turns into a satisfied moan when strong fingers begin working just the right spot.  His hips roll involuntarily forward making him gasp and Thor’s grip tighten at the shift.

“N… nothing important.”  He breathes out on a sigh.  There are bruises from where he had been holding onto Thor’s shoulder blossoming and visible by the sliver of moon overhead.  He kisses them slowly, deliberately, murmuring against golden skin.  “Seems we need to remember I’m stronger than I look.”

The hands on Bruce’s back pause their movements before Thor leans back to look him in the eyes.  He gently cradles his face, running his thumb along Bruce’s still flushed cheek. His touch is warm and comforting, a strength behind it that Bruce knows is there and can nearly feel through his skin.  “I would accept a thousand marks such as these if it meant I would continue to be privilege to your beauty when you come apart around me.”

Bruce laughs again, light hearted and kind.  He leans forward just enough so their foreheads crash lightly, noses brushing against each other.  “You are such a softie.”  Instead of a response, Thor tilts his head forward just enough to capture his lips in a loving kiss, gentle yet full of so much passion it makes Bruce’s toes curl and his stomach tighten.  There are hands in hair and chests pressed flush against each other, two hearts beating in tandem.

It’s all sickeningly poetic.

Bruce loves it.

“You are so forgiven, by the way.”  Thor smiles against Bruce’s lips while the smaller man tries to speak between kisses.  “You were forgiven the moment you apologized but, you know, in case you were wondering.”

“I never doubted the sincerity of your forgiveness.  However,”  in a movement that sends shocks of sensation through Bruce’s still overly sensitive body, Thor leans back to grab something from his pants that are in a pile on the edge of the blanket behind him.  His muscles flex and bulge beneath his skin, taut lines stretching out, sweat still glistening in the moonlight – if Bruce were a man who drooled (which he isn’t) it would be difficult to suppress at the sight.  He rolls his hips again the tiniest bit to show his appreciation and try and tease his lover a little.  But it backfires when Thor, who is still pressed so perfectly inside him, lifts just barely enough to show that he’s getting hard again.

God bless Asgardian physiology.

Bruce sucks in a quick breath while Thor sits back up with a playful smirk.  “You are insatiable.”  He lets go on the exhale.

“It’s difficult not to be with such beauty laid bare before me.”

Though he manages to get in an eye roll, Bruce’s verbal protest against all the SAP is cut off by a quiet kiss and a hand at his shoulder holding him down and impossibly closer.  “And as you Midgardian’s would say, you are a tease.”

Their laughter is light and their kisses and small movements together continue with absolutely no sense of urgency or goal in mind.  Even still, Thor’s breath is slightly heavier than normal when he finally speaks again.  “I have something for you.”  In the small space between them Thor brings his hand up and opens it, palm up, to show Bruce what he had retrieved from his pants.  A pendant, perfectly round and about half the diameter of Thor’s massive hand, rests there.  It’s a mixture of wood and metal with an intricately carved tree at the center which, if Bruce is remembering his mythology correctly, is more than likely Yggdrasil.  A thick band of metal runs through the wood in various shapes and encasing it along the edge connected to a long silver chain.  “I carved this from a branch of the life tree, had the dwarves of Nidavellir forge the metal and found a chain that would fit you perfectly no matter your size.”  Bruce’s hand hovers over the gift, never quite touching it, his breath caught in his chest.  The piece is beautiful and much too special for him.  Thor continues anyway, “The metal is the same as that of Mjolnir and because it belongs to you it will always return to you, even if you lose it somehow.”

Bruce bites his bottom lip.  “Is this where you were this morning?  When you disappeared for half of the day?  You opened up the bifrost and went all the way to Asgard and back.. for this?”

“For you.”  Thor says gently.  He takes his hovering hand and presses light kisses against the knuckles, not forcing him to take the gift.  “But yes.  I had to call in several favors to have it completed so fast.  Well, one favor and made one solemn vow.”  At Bruce’s single raised eyebrow Thor looks away with a blush.  “my mother wishes to meet the one who holds my heart so strongly and now I will be unable to turn her away next time she makes such a request.”

“So… I have to meet your parents.”  He responds flatly, keeping a lid on his heart as it threatens to beat out of control.

“Just my mother.”  Thor at least has the wisdom to seem apologetic.  He meets Bruce’s steady gaze again and continue pressing kisses to a visibly trembling hand.  “Have I angered you my love?  By being so presumptuous?”

Bruce lets out a breath.

Even if he had been angry (which he isn’t) that one question from Thor would have immediately dissipated it.  It is asked in concern, not fear, from a need to not upset someone he cares for rather than any worry that Bruce may give in and let go.

Because Thor does not fear him – any part of him.

He accepts him.

He loves him.

Bruce lowers his hand so the pendant is pressed firmly between their palms and he can feel the hum of magic against his skin.

“Not angry.  Terrified of making a good impression, but not angry.  Far from it.”  With Bruce’s admission Thor’s demeanor shifts from one of trepidation to open excitement.

“She will love you as I do.  How could she not?”  His smile is bright and so beautiful that Bruce can’t help but lean forward and give him a light kiss.  He moves to lift the pendant but Thor stops him, running the chain through his own hands.

“What…”

“I must inform you why I made that vow to my mother.”  Bruce trusts him enough to not be worried so he laughs.

“Go on.”

“She has imbued it with her magic at my request.  Yesterday I was reckless with my own life.  As you pointed out so well that evening I am immortal, not invulnerable.  There are people that care about me that I would not want to make worry, and someone I love more than anything that I do not wish to hurt.”  Bruce listens quietly, remembering the argument from the day before all to well.  “However.  I can not say I will cease putting other s lives before mine, especially yours.  Nor will not do everything in my power to stop the spread of evil through this world.”  He takes a deep breath and smiles.  “But I can give you this.  As long as you wear this, and as long as there is breath in my lungs and my heart beats true you will know…”

Thor presses his right hand flat over the left side of Bruce’s chest.

“…here….”

His middle finger taps lightly in perfect rhythm of Bruce’s pulse.

“…that wherever I am, I am alive and doing everything in my power to return to you.”

Bruce is not going to cry.

He’s just not that kind of guy.  Except that he is fighting the tremble in his lips and there is more water in his eyes than he would care to admit.  But he’s not going to cry.

Thor seems to be hesitating, waiting for permission.  When Bruce nods his head Thor lifts the chain slowly over his head with a smile then lowers it carefully.  The feel of it against his skin is negligible, like a gust of a breeze on a warm day that barely moves the hair on his arm.

And then the pendant falls flat against his chest.

Energy floods his sense; light and sound and heat. From the tips of his fingers through his chest and center and all the way down to his toes.  Sensations of completeness, of pleasure and understanding and absolute, unconditional LOVE set his skin on fire.  He can’t breathe and it’s the absolute best kind of breathlessness – like after a stolen kiss on an otherwise ordinary day or just before you say I love you and truly mean it for the first time.  His back is arched, Thor holding him steady.

Gentle.

Everywhere.

When his lungs can draw in air again his head is swimming worse (better) than any post orgasm haze he’s ever experienced in his life.

“Oh my god….”  Bruce is surprised by how clear his own voice is, as if his entire body hadn’t just remade itself a thousand times over to accommodate the sheer amount of LIFE he can feel from Thor.  Without thinking, aching to keep the feeling of absolute pleasure going he begins moving around his lover again.  This time his movements have purpose, his own erection renewed and pressed firmly between them.

Beneath him Thor trembles, his head falling back to bare his throat with a moan of Bruce’s name so sweetly on his lips.  Every time he sees him like this Bruce thinks it’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

Today is no different.

There will be more marks, from fingers and teeth and the hard rush of their bodies moving together with absolute abandon.  Thor forgets to breathe when Bruce bites at his neck.  Bruce nearly comes undone when Thor drags his nails down the ridges of his spine.

When they come this time Bruce does not see the lightning.

He feels it.

Its in his veins and cracking like thunder through his bones, sending him through a loop where he can’t tell up from down and feels his control nearly slip through his fingers.

But he clings to Thor who holds him steady, tight, close.

Safe.

When the world is right side up once more they fall back to the blanket, sliding apart for the first time in what feels like an eternity.  Bruce rests his head against Thor’s broad chest while strong fingers continue to absently trace imaginary shapes against his back.  As he comes down from his high – from the bliss of the last half hour – he hums, more content than ever.  But what makes him happiest is the way he can feel Thor’s smile where his lips are pressing soft kisses into his hair.

“I love you.”

The world begins to settle.

“And I you my dear one.”

Magic still radiates from the pendant, a steady hum in his skin and a light flutter of another heartbeat in his chest.  Though he can still pinpoint it for the moment, Bruce is certain that with a day or two it will just be something else he experiences – Thor’s life force a steady pulse in his chest no more a stranger feeling than his own breath.

Which, when he thinks about it, is rather fitting.

“Hey, Thor?”  His words are sleepy, mumbled against bare skin.

“Yes, my love?”

“Can I study it?”

Thor’s laughter is unexpected, causing them both to shake with the force of it though Bruce is too exhausted to move.  “what?”  He tries for indignant but mostly comes across as slightly miffed.

“I had expected that to be the first thing you asked about.”

Bruce does lift his head then to look at him, ready to tease a little, to point out that the mind numbing ecstasy he experienced when he first put it on was a perfectly valid excuse for making the scientific thoughts sit down and shut up for the first time in his life.  But the look in Thor’s eyes, admiring and affectionate and so full of acceptance for everything he is and thinks and everything he could be even when Bruce doesn’t accept himself – its stops him.  Because the rebuttal doesn’t matter.  The teasing doesn’t matter.  The science doesn’t matter.

All the matters is that he is loved.

“Is that a yes?”  He yawns, resting his head back on Thor’s chest where it belongs.

“Of course it is, my love.”  Thor sounds just as exhausted as Bruce feels and takes one last, long, cat like stretch before settling in beneath him again, tucked in close.  “Of course it is.”

 


End file.
